Combination of a ring spinning frame with a winding machine



y 12, 1954 H. GLASTRA ETAL 3,132,463

COMBINATION OF A RING SPINNING FRAME WITH A WINDING MACHINE Filed June 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 bum mt Y 3 IN V EN TOR-5 fl, [1 2:354 I'd QC l/ghden uk zkzv May 12, 1964 H. GLASTRA ETAL 3,132,463 COMBINATION OF A RING SPINNING vFRAME WITH A WINDING MACHINE Filed June 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3

H 6 2 at, INVENTOR? i a! y V8.7! i677 Afys'.

United States Patent 3,132,463 COMBINATION OF A RING SPINNING FRAME WITH A WINDING MACHINE Hendrik Glastra, 25 van t Hoiflaan, Enschede, Netherlands, and Gijsbertus C. van den Berg, Groenlo,

Netherlands; said van den Berg assignor to said Glastra Filed June 27, 1962, Ser. No. 205,636 Claims priority, application Netherlands July 13, 1961 4 Claims. (Cl. 57-52) The invention relates to the combination of a ring spinning frame with a winding machine. In this specification the term ring spinning frame is meant also to comprise other frames, such as ring doubling and twisting frames, wherein a yarn or thread is twined or twisted and wound on to a tube in the same Way, while the term winding machine indicates any machine on to which the yarn or thread from the tubes of the spinning frame is rewound into bigger spools, for instance cross-wound cones.

It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement in which it is not necessary individually to remove the tubes from the spindles of the spinning frame and to place them on the creel of the winding machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide an auto- -matic dofiing and transporting apparatus for lifting the full tubes from the spindles of the spinning frame, placing empty tubes on the spindles, moving the full tubes to the fvided with grippers for gripping the tubes on the spindles,

means for driving said chain, means for moving said movable frame in vertical direction to move said grippers to and away from the tubes on the spindles, and meansfor moving said movable frame in horizontal direction to bring the chain near the rewinding place of the winding machine.

This and other features of the invention will be more fully described with the help of the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an arrangement according to the invention;

FIG. 2, a side view of the arrangement according to FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3, a gripper and a tube as used in the spinning frame. 0

The dofiing apparatus can be combined with any usual ring spinning frame. FIGURES 1 and 2 schematically show such a frame 1 with its spindles 2 that can be driven by a motor which is not shown in the drawings. The dofiing apparatus comprises a conveyer chain 4, running over rollers 3 and carried by an auxiliary frame 6 that can slide in horizontal direction along frame 5. Chain 4 is provided with a number of equally spaced grippers 7, by which the full tubes 8 or the empty tubes 9 can be held fast, as will hereafter be described.

In this specification a belt is considered to be an equivalent of the chain and is meant to be comprised in the invention.

For each spindle 2 a cutter mechanism 10 has been provided, which cutter mechanisms are of the kind that can cut a thread and hold one of the cut ends. The frame 5 together with the auxiliary frame 6, the conveyer chain 4 and the chain driving motor 11 can be moved up and down in vertical direction by the motor 13 by means of the cable 12. The part 14, comprising among others 3,132,463 Patented May 12, 1964 the driving means of the cutters 10, can be coupled to the frame 5 and thus be included in the upand downward movement or left in its bottom position, as required. The means for coupling frame 5 and part 14 can be of any kind, for instance mechanical or electromechanical, and forms no part of the invention.

Beside the spinning frame I are placed one or more automatic quick winding machines, the totalcapacity of which corresponds to the capacity of the spinning frame. In the example shown in the drawing, two winding machines 15, 16 are provided, which rewind the yarn from the full tubes to cones 17, 18. Particularly suitable for this purpose are the automatic quick winding machines according to my co-pending application (winding machine), Serial No. 205,418, filed June 27, 1962.

FIG. 3 shows one of the grippers 7. It has a forked end 19, wherein a bent spring 20 is provided. The tube (an empty tube 9 is shown), with which the forked end 19 of the gripper 7 is to cooperate, has a top end reinforcement 21 with a recess 22 that fits into the forked end 19 of the gripper 7 and can be kept there by the spring 20. On the top of the tube a number. of thin elastic pins 23, forming some kind of a brush, is provided. A thread laid over the top of the tube between the pins will be held sufiiciently fast for starting the spinning process.

A ring spinning frame having a ring rail and a traversing mechanism are disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos.

frame 6 and the conveyer chain 4 is moved downwards until the grippers 7 are between the tubes on the spindles 2 and on the same level as the recesses 22 of the tubes. The conveyer chain 4 is then moved along over a short distance by means of the driving motor 11; this brings the forked end 19 of each gripper 7 around the recess of a full tube.

After this the conveyer chainis moved upward by the motor 13, the part 14 remaining in its place. This situation is shown in the FIGURE 2. When the tubes have been lifted over a determined distance, the cutters 10 are moved towards the spindles 2 of the spinning frame 1 and cut the thread between the traveller and the tube, holding the end which leads to the traveller and letting the other end loose.

After this, the cutters 10 are moved back. The conveyer chain 4 now moves still further upward, and subsequently circulates over the rollers 3 until the empty tubes 9, which at first projected above the chain, hang under the chain, an empty tube hanging over each empty spindle. Then the chain moves downward; the tubes 9 are placed on the spindles 2; the chain moves in horizontal direction over a short distance, so as to clear the grippers 7 from the tubes 9; the cutters 10 are moved towards the tubes 9 and lay the thread end which they have held fast over the head of the tubes 9 between the pins 23, after which the conveyer chain 4 together with the part 14 is lifted to its top position. The auxiliary frame 6 is slid sidewards until the chain 4 reaches over the rewinding places of both winding machines 15, 16 and then the chain is driven intermittently, thus supplying the full tubes to the winding units 15, 16, where they are unwound while hanging under the chain 4.

In connection with this the usual traversing mechanism, giving the ring rail an up-and-down, short-stroke movement and a slow, one-way movement that starts and ends at the same moments at each spinning period, is so arranged, that the slow, one-way movement of the ring rail is directed downwards, so that the yarn packages on the tubes are built up from the top ends down to the bottom ends of the tubes. This ensures a better and easier windsnsa es J9 ing off of the yarn. The said winding units have a capacity which is such that by the time that the tubes on the spindles 2 are full again, all the tubes on the chain 4 have been emptied so that only empty tubes hang under the chain 4. After this the chain 4 runs on until empty grippers 7 are positioned over the full tubes on the spindles 2 and the empty tubes project above the chain 4, after which the conveyer chain 4 descends, the full tubes are dotfed in the above-described manner and the Whole cycle is repeated. The threads are cut, the chain circulates until the full tubes are above and the empty tubes below. The empty tubes are put on the spindles and the respective yarn ends are fixed to their tops.

The above described device can be annexed to almost any existing spinning frame without any modification in the said existing frame being necessary. The spinning process itself is not influenced in any way. Because two sets of tubes can be used all the time, it is possible to employ high quality tubes, which are specially made for this purpose, their higher cost being overcompensated by the smaller number needed, so that a better and more uniform yarn is obtained. More particularly it is possible to use cylindrical tubes, which are expensive but much better from the point of view of textile technique, and which in this system may be carefully balanced.

We claim:

1. In a combination of a ring spinning frame, comprising a number of spinning spindles and a removable tube on each of said spindles, and a winding machine at one end of said spinning frame, a doffing and transporting apparatus comprising an endless chain running over the spindles of the spinning frame, a vertically and horizontally movable frame supporting the endless chain, grippers on the endless chain for gripping the tubes, means for driving said chain, means for moving said movable frame in a vertical direction to move said grippers to and away from the spindles, and means for moving said movable frame in a horizontal direction to bring the chain near the rewinding position of the winding machine, said winding machine being arranged to rewind yarn from bobbins held in the rewinding position by said grippers.

2. In a combination according to claim 1, in which a. ring rail is provilded for said spinning frame and a traversing mechanism is provided for communicating a shortstroke up-and-down movement and a slow one-Way vertical movement to said ring rail, said traversing mechanism being so arranged that the one-way movement of the ring rail is directed downwards.

3. In a combination of a ring spinning frame and a Winding machine placed at one end of said spinning frame, a dofling and transporting apparatus comprising a plurality of spindles with a removable tube on each spindle, an endless chain running over the spindles of the spinning frame, a vertically and horizontally movable frame supporting the endless chain, grippers on the endless chain for gripping the tubes on the spindles, means for driving said chain, means for moving said movable frame in a vertical direction to move said grippers to and away from the tubes on the spindles, and means for moving said movable frame in a horizontal direction to bring the chain near the rewinding position of the winding machine.

4. A combination of a ring spinning frame comprising a number of spinning spindles and a removable tube on each of said spindles, a winding machine at one end of said spinning frame, and a dofiing and transporting ap-' paratus comprising an endless chain running over the spindles of the spinning frame, a vertically and horizontally movable frame supporting the endless chain, grippers on the endless chain for gripping the tubes, means for driving said chain, means for moving said movable frame in a vertical direction to move said grippers to and away from the spindles, and means for moving said movable frame in a horizontal direction to bring the chain over the rewinding position of the Winding machine, said winding machine being arranged to rewind ygrn from bobbins that hang in the grippers under the c am.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,463,479 Miller July 31, 1923 1,810,754 Buddecke June 16, 193 1 2,726,505 Bethune et al. Dec. 13, 1955 3,054,249 Bahnson Sept. 18, 1962 3,116,586 Ingham Jan. 7, 1964 

1. IN A COMBINATION OF A RING SPINNING FRAME, COMPRISING A NUMBER OF SPINNING SPINDLES AND A REMOVABLE TUBE ON EACH OF SAID SPINDLES, AND A WINDING MACHINE AT ONE END OF SAID SPINNING FRAME, A DOFFING AND TRANSPORTING APPARATUS COMPRISING AN ENDLESS CHAIN RUNNING OVER THE SPINDLES OF THE SPINNING FRAME, A VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE FRAME SUPPORTING THE ENDLESS CHAIN, GRIPPERS ON THE ENDLESS CHAIN FOR GRIPPING THE TUBES, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CHAIN, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID MOVABLE FRAME IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION TO MOVE SAID GRIPPERS TO AND AWAY FROM THE SPINDLES, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID MOVABLE FRAME IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION TO BRING THE CHAIN NEAR THE REWINDING POSITION OF THE WINDING MACHINE, SAID WINDING MACHINE BEING ARRANGED TO REWIND YARN FROM BOBBINS HELD IN THE REWINDING POSITION BY SAID GRIPPERS. 